Lord Cividil and the nine
ministers of Babeldel seated around a Tungsten polished table, brooding over
their recent encounters of resistance among the resurrectants and the
annihilation of the remnants beyond the citadel’s outskirts—the last of what
might be free humanity.
ERIK
The
Goths of Citibaad must not be allowed to reach the sentient state. Contact with
outsiders, anyone beyond these walls, is to be strictly prohibited. An outskirt
rat mingling with our Goths would spell disaster—and ultimately such encounters
could lead to the dissolving of our order.
ARGOS
Folds
hands. Smiles knowingly.
The
Goths, my bothers, are incapable of true sentience. What the Goths imitate is
not a display of true self awareness. Rather, what we’ve seen thus far is a display
of mimicking. The only consciousness these resurrectants possess is the
programming they’ve received from the necro cloud.
ROCK
Doubled
fists, and bloodless, strikes the table.
Not
so! Word has reached my ear with quite different news, brother Argos!
A community of remnants is not far from this side of the blight. It is only a
matter of time…
WEASIL
Shakes
his long wavy hair. He pens what is said on to a block of parchment.
It
is no rumor. Such a community does indeed exist.
VRILOCK
—and
of the agency protecting it?
WEASIL
I’ve
noted it down as fact—that some agency works against our purposes. Sorry, for
the interruption, brothers. Please continue.
ARGOS
Agency?
Nonsense. Those in the blight are nothing more than the offshoot of a careless project
undertaken by our former head master.
ERICK
Hardly
should one of us refer to Jon’s work as ‘careless’.
ARGOS
Ridiculous!
I can’t believe what I’m hearing!
WEASIL
It
is a loose end to cleanse… nothing more. I’ve noted your argument. Let us move
on to more pressing issues. Please, digress on the matter of the remnants.
Continue otherwise.
ARGOS
Smiles
knowingly and nods.
ERIK
In
any event, the next horde of Necrotep will sweep our communities branching out
from the citadel. The time draws near for his return. Perhaps, it would be wise
if we cut those loose ends from our concern, and—
ARGOS
Interrupts
Erik.
No,
no, no! I have invested a great deal in spreading a culture through the
surrounding outskirts of Babeldel!
ERIK
Continues.
--and
instead fortify what we can afford to reinforce with power and supply.
ARGOS
I
won’t stand for this. My investment? Timeless. Priceless work!
ERIK
Meet
the demand, first and foremost, brother Argos.
ARGOS
I
understand the prophecies as well as any of my fellow ministers here in this
room. But, Jon’s army is a plan of folly. That may just be my opinion.
Looks
around the room.
Is
it truly wise, my brothers? Is it? To meet this dark force with resistance?
ROCK
What
would you have us do, then? Come. Enlighten us, brother Argos.
What strategy have you mustered in all this time you’ve spent on your
collateralization projects with resurrectants in the outskirts?
MEANWHILE…..
JOSEPH
Donning
the cog-helm of the citadel, the rogue slips through the necropolis under the
veil of monster curfew (a time when
citizens are locked in their dorms due to the monsters unleashed by the order
of Babeldel.
TWO
NECROBORGS
Eyes
ignite like welding torches upon sensing the presence of the rogue, Joseph.
((to
be continued…))
No comments:
Post a Comment